


Colter Mountains

by AlaineNeuburger



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games), Red Dead Redemption 2
Genre: F/M, Male-Female Friendship, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24427966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlaineNeuburger/pseuds/AlaineNeuburger
Summary: Hope Dennehey (In place of Y/N) Has been on the run from herself for three years. After falling in with the O' Driscoll gang, her life gets thrown for a loop.This "book" takes place throughout the entirety of RDR2. If you haven't played the game please DON'T read, this has all the spoilers lol.Eventual Hope x Keiran (I'm proud tbh)Father/daughter relationship between Arthur Morgan and Hope.
Kudos: 11





	1. Colter Mountains

Chapter 1- Colter Mountains

  
  


Colter mountains. A brutally frigid place where those who managed to go there seemed to appreciate warm weather for the rest of their lives.

Standing on the mountain Hope finally understood why. Running with the O' Driscolls was never how she saw herself living, but there wasn’t much of a choice. Hope was nothing more than the men’s plaything; something to keep them entertained when the days were long. 

And she hated every moment of it.

Her gaze rested on the house that they were staying in, it was old and freezing, the smell of death hanging thick in the air.

“This week will be a big one! The train will be coming through in just a few short days, and my men, it will be glorious to take what we want!” 

At this point, Hope tuned the man out. The cold was biting at her and she held her coat closer to her. The O’ Driscolls barely had women join them, and therefore, never had women’s clothing for her. Hope’s gaze turned to the only person she called a friend in this rotten gang. Kieran Duffy. He joined at the same time as her, from some run-down town whose name didn’t come to mind. They shared countless nights talking about what they would do once they could escape.

Hope covered her mouth, slowly warming her fingers from the cold as she tried to ignore the man calling her to him.The voice gnawed at her a bit longer before the man gave up, returning to speaking with his small group. Distantly Hope heard shouting, which brought her back to the harsh reality. There was a celebration and shouting. Cheap whiskey was passed around, never once handed to her. She scoffed bitterly and returned to shivering in the corner.

“Quiet! You hear that?” One of the henchmen exclaimed and the house went silent.

“Son of a- that’s Dutch Van Der Linde. You two get them to leave.” Hope knew this would end in one of two ways, a gunfight, or the O’ Driscolls would be too drunk and miss.

Two men opened the door and Hope could hear faint talking. She grabbed her dress and began heading for the back door when an arm reached out. It was the woman whose husband they shot; the woman who those bastards had… Hope didn’t want to finish that thought

“I want you to stay and rot with them.” Her voice was filled with hatred and fear that made Hope tremble in the woman’s grasp. 

She wasn’t sure what made the woman let her go, was it the sound of yelling or the fear mirrored in Hope’s eyes? A churning feeling settled in the pit of Hope’s stomach, she really deserved it didn’t she? Suddenly a gunshot rang out and she heard the men run towards the front door. Kieran raced towards Hope and grabbed her arm.

“We gotta go.” The two slipped out the back door and onto Kieran’s horse.

“When we get there, we gotta warn them.” Kieran tried his best not to let his voice waiver, but Hope heard it clear as day.

The gunshots continued until the two were out of range. Hope was desperately gripping onto Kieran’s shirt as the snow bit at her cheeks and hands.

“Who goes there?” Hope looked over Kieran’s shoulder at the guard.

“Van der Linde gang by the house! They were shootin’ the whole place up!”

“Shit! Get Colm out of here.”

Hope didn’t remember to bite her tongue and she spoke. “What about the other men?”

The guard stared at her as if she had two heads, “They’re as good as dead, little lady.”

Hope always hated when men called her that, it made her feel like an item, and she sure as hell wasn’t. Kieran pulled the horse to a hitching post and hopped off before helping her down.

“You alright?” He spoke quietly, and Hope wondered if there was something wrong with talking when Colm’s in the same camp. And the question. How could she answer that? 

“Sure, you?”

“Eh, I’ll be fine.”

Hope tugged at her coat sleeves, wondering if they even helped with how worn they were.

“We best get you to bed, Hope. The camp is gonna be torn down tomorrow.”

She nodded and headed for one of the cabins, maybe if she was lucky, she could snatch a tent.


	2. A change in scenery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kieran and Hope leave the O' Driscoll camp in a hurry only to be captured by a mysterious cowboy who Hope knows she doesn't want to cross. It seems like the next few weeks will be a difficult trial...

Chapter 2- The Van der Linde gang

  
  
  
  


Hope hated running. It seemed like all she did since the Van der Linde gang came along was run.

The next day, they showed up in the new camp and started shooting again. Only this time, she didn’t have the night to cover her. They showed up in broad daylight and left no one alive. Oh, God. Kieran, Hope worried about him so much. She waited by his horse until he showed. Hope opened her mouth to speak but Kieran just hopped on the horse and pulled her up. This poor horse had been through so much lately. The ride to the mountains, last night, and now today. It would be a miracle if he didn’t run off as soon as it could.

They rode for quite some time before Hope heard a voice.

“Hey, you see that feller? Wasn’t he at the camp with Colm?” Hope felt her heart sink to her stomach and Kieran must have heard too. 

He kicked the horse to go faster but to no avail. A man on a Tennessee Walker sped up behind them and Hope watched as a lasso went around their Branwen’s neck. The horse jerked back in a swift motion and the man came up alongside them.

“Please, don’t hurt us.” The desperation seeped through Kieran’s voice.

“You’re coming with me.” The man’s voice was deep and he sounded ruthless.

  
  


Kieran opened his mouth to talk but Hope stopped Kieran nodded.

“You, get on your horse again, the lady is coming with me to make sure you don’t try any funny business.” 

“You got it, just don’t touch her.” Kieran sounded desperate almost.

If Hope’s world wasn’t crashing around her ankles, she would have the time to be touched by his worry for her. The ride to the man’s camp was long and cold. Hope could hear Kieran whimpering every so often as he stared at Branwen’s mane. A few buildings come into view and Hope could see three fires spread out and people huddling around them.

“Here we are. Let’s introduce you to the boys.”The man grabbed Kieran and a new man with a blond mustache and a disgusting smile grabbed Hope by the arm, following the man who dragged Kieran.

“Welcome back Morgan.” The voice behind Hope spoke. It was coarse and teasing,

“Don’t worry, they’re real nice.” The man chuckled.

A man exited the building and Hope recognized him instantly. That’s Dutch Van der Linde. Hope paled and squirmed in the man’s grasp.

“Yup. I got ‘em.”

At this point, Van der Linde shifted his attention to Hope. He almost seemed surprised, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Very good. Welcome to your new home, hope you like it here.” Under normal circumstances, this sentence would be kind, but his words dripped with disdain.

“You want me to make him talk?”

“No, no all we’ll get is lies.” The man holding Hope chuckled and it filled her with an emotion she couldn’t describe. But whatever it was, wasn’t good.

“Uncle, Mr. Williamson, tie these maggots up someplace safe. We get them hungry first.”

Kieran squirmed as Mr. Morgan adjusted his grip.

“I got a saying, my friend. We shoot fellers as need shooting, save fellers as need saving, and feed ‘em as need feeding. We are gonna find out what you need.”

A deep laugh startled Hope. “I can’t believe it! O’ Driscolls in my camp!”

Kieran shouted over the wind as the men turned him away. “No, we ain’t O’ Driscolls, mister! I hate that feller.”

“Oh, whatever you say son. Well done Arthur.”

Hope’s arm was tugged on and she was dragged until a new building came to her attention. It was old and worn out, part of the ceiling was missing and it appeared like it would fall over at any moment. The men tied both her and Kieran up on two of the support beams. The door slammed closed and the walls shook. The wind whistled through the hole and the weight of all that happened slammed down on Hope. A sob choked in her throat and she slumped against the pole.

“Oh, Lord. Hope please don’t cry, Damn it, I should have rode faster, we wouldn’t be in this.”

  
“Don’t blame yourself.” Hope could barely hear her voice and had he not responded, she would have never known he heard.

“I hate hearing you cry. It’s a terrible sound.”

Hope wanted to reach out and gather him in her arms, but the ropes were quite the obstacle. There would be no sleep that night, no food, and no peace. It seemed like it would be like that for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2!  
> From now on, I will post once a week (upload day tbd).  
> We have now met the Van Der Linde gang! I'm super excited for you all to see how it turns out heheheh


	3. Moving Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang is picking up and moving to a new location! How will this go for Hope and Kieran as the gang needs to decide what they do with the duo?

Chapter 3- Moving Day

  
  
  
  


The door slammed open and the man Hope could now recognize as Bill entered the shack.

“Morning kiddos. Rise and shine, it's moving day.”

The man moved and cut down the ropes that restrained Hope. Confusion clear on her and Kieran’s faces, Bill sighed and spoke.

“To be blunt, she’s a lady. She’ll ride ahead with the women of the camp and set it up,” A blunt chuckle left his lips “Besides, where will she go?”

“No! No please, I don’t want to go.” Hope looked at Bill, hoping to appeal to some part of his mind.

“You don’t have a choice little lady.” His words set her brain on fire. She despised being called that.

“And if I make you get your boss?” Hope placed her hands on her hips.

Bill let out a loud hearty laugh. “Thanks, darlin’. Haven’t had a laugh like that in ages.”

The man now grabbed her arm and Hope let out a yelp. As she was taken outside she could clearly hear Kieran.

“You hurt her, I’ll make you pay!” His voice cracked as he spoke and Hope’s eyes slammed shut as the light hit them.

“Your man needs to calm down, he’s too worked up all the time.”

Hope decided it would be best to keep her mouth shut, but her mind raced and her heart pounded out of her chest.

“Now, miss Grimshaw will take decent care of you, once the camp is set up, you’ll get proper clothes and get cleaned up, but for now, put your pretty butt on that wagon.”

Hope scowled at him as she stared at the wooden wagon. She didn’t have a choice, did she? Hope straightened her back and climbed up in. Six women stared at her in the eyes and suddenly Hope felt very small. There were no seats left in the wagon so she sat on the floor legs crossed.

“Is it true? What Dutch says about Colm?” The girl with long brown hair who sat in the back piped up.

“No,” Hope shook her head. “It doesn’t begin to describe him.”

“How long were you riding with ‘em?” A new girl, dark skin and beautiful braids spoke now.

“Not long. A few months, Kieran joined when I did.”

“Kieran, that's the O’ Driscoll that you showed up with?” The woman with fiery red hair and a fierce Irish accent inquired.

“He ain’t an O’ Driscoll. He just had no choice but to join them.”

The older woman stood up and climbed past Hope before hopping off the wagon. 

“We’ll get to the new camp and you will all be put to work. Get your chattin’ out of the way now, I don’t wanna hear it when we get there.” 

The women all nodded. “Oh, and dear, welcome to the Van der Linde gang, don’t do anything stupid.”

Giggles erupted from the wagon and Hope wasn’t sure how to react.

“Well, let's get this rolling,” The woman with short, blonde hair straightened herself and placed her hand on her chest. “My name is Karen, the woman who told you to not be stupid is Miss Grimshaw, she’s a nasty old lady, The Irish over here is Miss Molly O’ Shea, the brown-haired girl is Mary-Beth, the silent one is Abigal and she’s got a son named Jack, cutest thing you ever saw, and the last lady is our very own Tilly.”

Hope’s eyes were probably wide because the girls burst out laughing. 

“What’s your name honey?” Mary-Beth gave her the biggest doe eyes and Hope knew she probably got what she wanted with the batting her eyelashes.

“Hope. Hope Dennehey.” Her voice was a bit rough from lack of use in recent days.

“That’s a nice name dear. Welcome to the wagon.” Molly seemed kind, but Hope knew she was not to be trifled with.

The rest of the ride there was spent with the girls talking about the men. Hope picked up a few names. Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Javier, Bill, Micah, Charles, and a few others Hope couldn’t keep up with.

“Alright, ladies!” Miss Grimshaw’s voice rang clear through the chatter. “Time to get to work! Tilly and Mary-Beth you take care of Mr. Morgan’s tent, Karen and our new lady you set up the other tents, Miss O’ Shea, you and I will start Mr. Dutch’s tent. Now move!”

The girls all piled out of the wagon and wasted no time getting to work. Karen moved Hope along, showing her how to set up the first tent and putting her on her own for the next few. By the time the sun was hanging low, the men showed up at camp. Hope peered across the people trying to find Kieran, she saw him being held by Bill and the man who held her the other day. They quickly tied him to a tree on the outskirts of the camp.

“Everyone, put your tools down for a moment!” Hope’s head turned to see Van der Linde walking towards the center of the camp, people slowly following him.

“Come on gather round, quickly now,” Hope somehow felt it wasn’t her place to stand alongside them, she wasn’t family like they were.

“I know that things have been tough. But we are safe now, and we are far too poor. So it is time for everyone to get to work.”

A new man cut in, Hope knew him from his voice, but she had yet to learn his name. “Get to work, but stay out of trouble. Remember, we are itinerant workers.”

“Laid off when they shut down our factory to the north. Now get out there and see what you can find.”

A few people nodded and Hope stored that story in the back of her mind, should she need it later.

“Uncle, Reverend Swansen, no more passengers. “ The ladies giggled and bumped a few elbows together.

“It is time for everyone to earn their keep.”

“There’s a town little ways down the track, name of Valentine, livestock town, all mud and morons if I remember right. That seems a decent place to start.”

“And uh, we need food, real food,” A new man chimed in, by the way, he spoke, Hope assumed he was the cook. “That means every day, one of you.”

“And remember, whatever it is that you find, the camp gets its slice. Now be sensible out there.”

“Now the girls have you set up over here Mr. Morgan…”

Hope listened to the chatter fade into the background. Charles set up a fire and most of the girls began singing with who Hope assumed was Javier, who was playing guitar. She turned her attention to Kieran and she sat next to him.

“We’ve got ourselves into an awful mess, now haven’t we?” Hope chuckled and ran her hand along the grass tips.

“Could be worse, Colm coulda found us, killed us probably.” Hope felt a chill inside herself knowing she could be dead now.

“Well, they don’t trust me, but I am of some use to them. Don’t know how well they’ll treat me though.”

“Hope, if you gotta, you leave me behind, you hear me?”

“Don’t you dare talk like that, we are not leaving each other, not now.”

Kieran nodded and shifted as best he could, his arms bent unnaturally. Karen walked up behind the two and sighed.

“I brought you some biscuits. Dutch said don’t give any to him, but I ain’t fighin’ you. Sleep well hon.”

Karen gave the two a kind smile which Hope gladly returned.

“They’re family here, it ain’t like the O’ Driscolls.” Hope pulled a biscuit apart and fed a piece to Kieran. He nodded thoughtfully as he chewed and Hope played with her food. Somehow after not eating a nibble for two days, she couldn’t bring herself to eat anything now.

“If you feed me, you best eat too.”

“I ain’t hungry.” She stated matter of factly.

Kieran let out a scoff. “It don’t matter, you gotta take care of yourself.”

  
  
  


The rest of the night Kieran and Hope stayed silent. They talked but the words somehow felt empty. Hope fell asleep slumped up against the tree next to Kieran. He watched her for a moment, her chest rising and falling as she seemed to be at peace. Peace, they hadn’t had that in a while, Kieran hoped she would have it one day, but he didn’t see much hope for himself. But a man could dream, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! It looks like I'll be posting every Monday, so I hope you don't mind that! Thank you to those who left kudos and to new peeps I say welcome!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! 
> 
> (Also isn't Kieran just a baby, I love him)


	4. A New Home

Chapter 4- A new home

The next few weeks Hope felt like she was suffocating. Sure, she worked and might even be able to call herself the girls’ friend, she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything on her own. Tilly kept saying Dutch would trust her someday soon, but somehow, to Hope, those words felt like a lie. They kept Kieran tied up, and Hope spent all her free time by him. Every meal she ate, he got some, every time she found something fun, Kieran was the first to know.

Until that damned Dutch Van der Linde caught her. He was appalled and all but banned her from speaking to him, let alone feeding him. It tore Hope apart; she spoke less, ate less, and spent more time sitting by herself. Mary-Beth watched from afar at the two before turning to Karen.

“It ain’t right, they’re so young.”

Karen just chuckled and blew out the smoke from her cigarette.

“World ain’t like the books you read, that's for sure.”

\-----

Hope blew the hair out of her face as she picked up another bucket for the barrels behind Pearson’s cooking tent when she heard a commotion.

“Oh, don’t worry, they’re only balls boy, just gonna cause you trouble.”

Hope’s eyes widened as she began racing across camp to him, trying not to bump into people along the way.

“You sick bastards!” Kieran sounded desperate and Hope finally made it to the cooking tent. For now, she would forget the man wasn’t wearing pants and focus on the massive tongs Bill held in his hand.

“What do you want from me?!”

Van der Linde chuckled, “Well, you are going to talk. The only question is now or after we get these little fellers off?”

“Okay! Okay! Listen. I know where O’ Driscoll is holed up, and you’re right, he don’t like you any more than you like him. He’s at Six Point cabin. I’ll take you there, serious.”

Bill stepped back and Hope let out a breath she never knew she was holding.

“I don’t like him, I mean I like him even less than I like you, no offense.”

“None taken.”

Hope looked back up as Arthur spoke. “Okay then partner, why don’t you take a few of us up there right now.”

Oh, how she hoped he was right.

The camp held a stiff air for the next few hours. Hope knew what Colm meant to this gang, he would destroy them in a second if given the chance. If Kieran was right this could end their biggest rivalry and most likely spare a lot of lives.

\--------

Hope turned her head as she saw horses walking into the camp. John and Bill dropped off their horses and Kieran followed. Hope caught his eye and he nodded. What that meant, Hope wasn’t sure. Was Colm dead? Did they have to leave? In all the questioning, Hope hadn’t noticed Kieran walk up to her.

“He wasn’t there.” Kieran sounded disheartened.

“Oh,” Hope almost felt it wasn’t her place to say much anything.

“But I-I saved Mr. Morgan’s life so I guess we’re staying.”

“Does Van der Linde know?”

“John Marston was going to talk to him.”

Hope wasn’t sure how to feel. She hadn’t had a family in a long time and she never allowed herself to hope for one again. Kieran sighed and pulled her into a tight hug, cradling her head against his chest. Maybe he was happy, maybe he could feel the anxiety radiating off her.

“Now, let’s see if I can get food for us.” Hope smiled as she spoke. Maybe they would be okay.

Pearson was kind and gave them food for the night. Hope and Kieran walked over to the fire where the ladies sat with Javier and sang loudly as he played guitar. The stew, even though Hope had eaten it many times before, tasted different, almost better.

“Kieran,” Hope turned her head to see Arthur Morgan standing behind them with their arms crossed. Kieran glanced at Hope and nodded before standing and walking off.

“Did you hear him yelling earlier? Like he was gonna miss them little fellers!” Karen burst out laughing and wiggled her eyebrows at Hope while Abigail chuckled alongside her.

“Don’t tease the poor girl Karen, we want her to like us.”

“I don’t mind, really,” Hope surprised herself by speaking and by the looks of it, surprised everyone else. “I was born in a, well, a whore house. I saw my mama and all the other women and they were sisters. I always wanted that.”

A chorus of “aw” and “bless” rang out around the fire and even Javier looked touched.

“Well honey,” Tilly piped up “we are more than happy to be your sisters.”

Hope was so touched that she had to laugh and look down at her now empty bowl so as to not cry. The singing started back up behind her and Kieran joined soon after. Maybe they had a family after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, if I don't say anything, you don't say anything? I know I'm two days late, I legit forgot about this cos of school, my bad.  
> Either than that, I hope you enjoyed it!


	5. May I have This Dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Hope and Keiran have settled into camp a little, normal life begins. What lies ahead for these two?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no excuse, I've just been gone.  
> I finished school, started back at work, and oH YEAH, I have pinkeye sigh.  
> I'm gonna post a bunch of chapters rn, so please enjoy!

\---------Chapter 5- May I have this dance?

  
The sun lifted up into the sky and Hope stretched her arms out, with Colm the most work she did was get information on trains and banks, occasionally dressing in terrible clothes for the men; here she cleaned, carried wheat, and took care of the horses. A week had passed since Hope and Kieran were called part of the family and some were kind to them, but some seemed unsure of their arrival. Molly told Hope she reminded Arthur of a young girl named Jenny who passed a short time back, explaining his distance from her.

Kieran found his place taking care of the horses. Hope found it adorable how he would come to eat dinner and let it get cold talking about all of them. Boaz, Javier’s horse, was a fast eater and Taima, Charles’s horse, loved to watch birds. He would spend all day doting on them, making sure they had food and were content. Hope didn’t have a permanent job yet, although what she did, by the camp’s standard, was a job. Over the weeks she grew closer to people, yet they could all tell she was keeping up walls. Some of them, they thought, she kept up even around Kieran.

A few times Hope had followed the girls into the local town and played cute to get information. The first celebration Hope had with the gang was when she found out about a stagecoach with bonds would be crossing close by. The men of the camp took care of it and came back with about a hundred dollars.

Hope found it was the little things. Learning a new song or finding a toad with Jack and playing with it. Oh, how Hope adored little Jack. He wasn’t sure of Hope until she brought him back sweets from town, and then she was one of his favorite people. It broke her heart when Abigail told her about John leaving Jack and pretending he wasn’t his. But somehow, Hope understood. It wasn’t right, but she imagined it was scary to hear you caused a human to be brought into this world. Hosea took up teaching her fishing and about the gang’s past.

It was a swirling mess most of the time, but Hope heard in his voice that he truly cared for each and every one of them. They were his family.

Eventually, Arthur warmed up to Hope. Time to talk with her was rare, but she knew he wanted her to be happy. Hope knew that he had a hard life. He kept to himself mostly and wrote in his journal often. That journal must be almost full up by now. Hope would keep that in mind come Christmas. 

Charles and Javier were kind to her, they taught her about the camp and her place in it. Hope knew she wasn’t trusted by all, but it still felt nice. A few more days passed and a new face came back to camp. Sean Macguire. An Irish man who was crass and drunk most of the time. Karen seemed torn about him returning. Hope knew she was secretly happy, at least most of the time.

The whole camp threw a party. There was booze, dancing, laughing, and some unmentionable acts. Hope watched as Kieran stood and walked over to her, swaying slightly and she giggled. She had only seen him tipsy a few times, but never drunk.

Kieran stood next to her and she looked up at him. She almost saw a new emotion in his eyes and she faltered slightly. Her heartbeat sped up and Hope feared her heart would jump into her throat. She came back to reality and realized Kieran was standing there, waiting for a response.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Kieran cleared his throat.

“May- may I have this dance?” Hope said nothing, just blinking a few times as the song Javier was playing slowed down.

“Yes, that would be lovely.” Hope gathered her skirt and stood, giving him a small smile.

Hope straightened herself before wrapping her arms around his neck as he placed his hands on her waist. He was breathing shakily and Hope began humming a gentle melody in his ear. They swayed slightly, ignoring the world around them. Hope forgot the past, all the pain and worry, stress and tears, if even for a short time. She listened to the slowing of his heartbeat and the crickets in the background. She hadn’t been happy in a long time and this was the closest she’d had to peace in years. Kieran took a deep breath and placed his head in the crook of Hope’s neck and she giggled.

“What?” His voice was muffled and his beard tickled her skin.

“Nothin’, just been thinking. We’ve barely had the chance to breathe since this all started.”

Kieran was silent at that. Hope didn’t blame him, it was the wrong time to bring it all back to mind. Hope heard Mary-Beth giggle as Arthur spun her around and it brought a smile to the girl’s face.

“Guess if we had to end up somewhere, it’s nice that its a place like this.”

“Much better than them O’ Driscolls, that’s for sure.”

The music faded and Hope sighed. She almost didn’t want to let go, but both were startled as Karen screamed at Sean and threw a bottle in his face. Kieran looked down at the floor rubbing his neck and laughing meekly.

“I had too much to drink, I’m gonna turn in for the night.”

“Oh, okay.” Hope hid the disappointment in her voice and hugged her sides, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Kieran waved and walked off, trying his best not to stumble and fall. Hope sighed and walked over to her shared tent with Tilly. Hope pulled up a blanket and started walking behind the tent as Tilly looked up at her.

“Where are you going?”

“To look at the stars. Gotta clear my mind.” The answer seemed to satiate Tilly and Hope disappeared behind the tent.

But there was no clearing her mind. It kept swirling deeper and deeper until she was nearly in tears. The sound of grass rustling bounced through her ears and Hope turned to see none other than Arthur Morgan.

“That was quite some dance back there.” He chuckled before sitting down.

“I could say the same to you, Mr. Morgan.”

“Eh, Mary-Beth is a good girl, she’ll find what she’s looking for someday.”

Hope picked up some grass and began braiding it as he spoke.

“Dutch don’t really trust you yet, but he will. Somewhere under all that, he ain’t too bad.”

“Lot better than the last gang I was with.”

“They pumped Kieran full of as much booze as they could, poor kid.”

Oh trust me, I noticed.” Hope chuckled as she finished her grass braid.

“You know,” Arthur shifted and sighed “I was young once.”

“No! You? Never woulda thought.” Hope smiled as Arthur gave her a sideways glance.

“Watch your tone woman, I’m giving you advice. I spent my time chasing skirts and it got me nowhere. I wasted my time on things that didn’t matter, and I ignored those that did.”

Hope wasn’t really sure she knew where he was going with this so she gave a careful nod, hoping he would be fooled. But he clearly wasn’t as he let out a massive sigh and rubbed his hand over his face.

“I’m saying you got some good things in your life right now. Take care of them and don’t let them get away, alright?”

And with that, Arthur just stood up and walked away, leaving Hope pondering his words. Maybe she just needed sleep. Yeah, sleep would do her some good.

\-----

Kieran smiled as Lenny finished his story and Hosea shook his head. As much as he wanted to be in the moment, and enjoy his new home, if he could call it that, his mind wandered back to Hope. Her soft voice humming, her arms around his neck, her smile as she listened to Sean being dramatic. Kieran glanced over to Arthur, who came and sat next to him, stealing the bottle from Hosea.

“That kid is something, that’s for sure.”

Sean guffawed and looked Kieran dead in the eye. “Quite a fox, that one.”

Kieran felt his blood boil, how dare he say that about her? But he didn’t respond, just chugged more liquor.

“Calm down there, boy. You’ve had enough for one night.”

Maybe Arthur was right, his vision wasn’t quite right, but he hurt inside and the liquor was warm.

“Now, if you gentlemen don’t mind, I’m going to speak to a lovely lady who hates my guts.” Sean stood suddenly and almost fell back on the log.

Hosea nodded to him before standing and bidding the men goodnight, muttering something about reading a book. Arthur turned to Kieran and took the bottle from his hand.

“You mean the world to her kid. Take care of her. Starting with putting her to bed. She’s asleep in the grass behind her tent and Tilly ain’t gonna wake up to get her.”

And with that, the outlaw stood up and left, leaving Kieran with a choice. Get her or go to bed and hide from the world. He decided to get her.

The walk-behind her tent was silent. He was tired and by now, woozy. His mind was foggy and he was slow. Hope came into view, her hair flowing freely as it always did, only this time it was tangled in the deep brown grass. Her eyes were closed and fluttering slightly as she dreamed.

A new emotion swept over Kieran. Oh God, he loved her.

It hit him like a train. He was never something special, but the way she treated him, he could almost believe he was.

He approached her slowly as if he needed permission to pick her up. He crouched next to her and slipped his arms under her back and knees. She was much lighter than he expected but it didn’t stop him from stumbling as he picked her up. Hope’s head turned and she muttered some unintelligible words before settling again.

Kieran didn’t really want to put her down, but his arms were tired so he settled for taking her to her tent.


	6. A Good Day to Make a Bad Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope is doing well in camp, but everyone has to mess up some time, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Hope. my loveable and relatable girl. Let's make her mess up shall we?
> 
> WARNING: Hope tries (keyword) to pretend to be a prostitue to get info.

\--------Chapter 6- A Good Day to Make a Bad Mistake

When Hope woke up she realized where she was, and she knew it wasn’t where she was last night. The sun wasn’t very high in the sky when she heard whistling.  
She turned her head to see none other than Sean Macguire. Whittling wood and whistling some unknown tune.

“Morning sunshine, I was supposed to wake you, but this wood was fascinating.”

Hope rolled her eyes and sat up.

“I’m sure that's exactly how it went Macguire,” Sean let out a small chuckle.

“The girls want to go into town and stir up trouble, wanna join them?”

Hope had two options, stay here and have Miss Grimshaw yell at her, or go into town and probably get in trouble. She sighed and stood.

“Only eighteen once, right?”

Sean broke out into a huge smile, Hope guessed that was the answer he wanted. “Be ready and come find us by the wagon.”

Sean walked away and Hope began getting dressed. A tight shirt and pretty overcoat, a welcoming present from Molly. She placed her hair in a loose braid, pulling strands away from her face before lacing her boots and walking to Pearson’s tent looking for Kieran. A frown graced her lips when she found him nowhere, maybe he went fishing with Jack and Arthur?

Mary-Beth and Karen spotted her, waving her over to the wagon.

“You clean up real nice dear.” Mary-Beth’s soft voice lulled through the air and Tilly nodded.

“If Miss O’ Shea wasn’t doting on Dutch, she would think you look lovely in that coat.” The girls giggled and Mary-Beth helped Hope up.

The wagon began bumping along the trail, the girls sing a song at the top of their lungs. Hope didn’t know the words, so she settled for laughing at the worst parts and tapping her boots on the dusty wood. The little town of Valentine came into view and the girls began touching up their clothes and hair, batting their eyelashes and fake giggling.  
Hope had mixed feelings about the whole thing. One the one hand, who didn’t want to be desired every once in a while? But she felt like a little toy.

The wagon pulled on the side of the road. Sean turned around and winked at Karen who rolled her eyes and looked away.  
“I’ll be back in about an hour, don’t have too much fun ladies.”

The girls stepped out and split off, Tilly went to the store, Karen the small saloon, and Mary-Beth probably went to search for a nice tree to read under.   
Hope took a deep breath and walked towards the big saloon, making sure to sway her hips a little extra.

As the doors swung open Hope flipped her hair over her shoulder. She walked slowly over to the bar and smiled at the bartender. He seemed well aware she was here to pick up a man, so he didn’t bother serving her. Hope glanced around the room and saw two men talking in hushed voices across the room. She cleared her throat and casually sauntered behind them.

“The train will come in soon, maybe we can get a paylo-” The larger man stopped his sentence as Hope approached. This wasn’t how she planned it.

“Can I help you, little lady?” His voice was rough and Hope bit her tongue.  
“Actually, I was hoping I could help you.”

“Not interested, go away.”

“Oh come on honey, not even for a moment?” She swallowed the disgust she had for herself and purred as she spoke.

The man suddenly stood up and Hope realized no matter how this ended, she wouldn’t win. He was at least a foot taller than her. The man placed his hands on her shoulders and shoved her to the floor.

“I said, I’m not interested you whore. Get away!”

Hope crawled away before getting up and turning away. A new man came up to her from the side of the room.  
“I’d be happy to pay for your services.”

“I’m sorry sir, I need to leave.”

The man’s eyes turned dark. “Oh what, you’re too good for me? Do your damn job.” His cold hand grabbed her wrist and Hope whimpered. She pulled but his grip hardened.

“Let the girl go damn it.” Hope turned as she heard a new voice. Arthur Morgan.

Somehow he was just as scary as the man holding her captive.

“Leave me, alone partner, I’m gonna pay.”

Arthur crossed the saloon in a matter of seconds before punching the man in the face. He turned to look at Hope, rage in his eyes. Hope rubbed her wrist and avoided his gaze.

“You’re coming with me, you’re in trouble.”

Tears flooded her eyes but she wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was embarrassment or pain? She didn’t know. The saloon went silent as Hope followed Arthur out the door. The sun hit her eyes and she caught a glimpse of Mary-Beth standing across the road, a sadness in her eyes that Hope hated, a pity she didn’t deserve.

Hope held onto Arthur during the ride back. How could she look anyone in the eye knowing she failed? She dreaded seeing the horses and Kieran. Oh God, Kieran. She knew he would be disappointed in her. As the treeline came into sight she buried her head in Arthur’s back and it hurt him for some reason. God, she was just a kid, why did she have to be a part of this?

Arthur got off his horse and helped Hope down, but she still wouldn’t look at him.

“What were you thinking back there?”

“They were talking about a train I-I thought I could help.” Hope took in a shuddering breath.

“You could have gotten yourself hurt; lost something you can’t replace!”

“I just wanted…”

“Well, that doesn’t matter anymore. Do you think I’m mad? Wait until Dutch hears about this.”

“Hear about what, Arthur?” Hope was ready to sink into the dirt by now, her wrist still cradled close to her.

“Our little maven here devised a plan to find out about a train and almost got herself-” Arthur sighed and didn’t bother finishing the sentence caught.

‘’I appreciate your tenacity, my dear, however, we cannot afford to get ourselves in trouble right now. So please, stick to what you know.”

Hope nodded and waited until the two men walked off to run to the hill and cry. It was stupid, she knew this, but somehow she couldn’t stop. She spent most of the day sitting, softly sobbing on the edge of the hill.   
She didn’t even hear little Jack walk up behind her.

“Miss Hope?” He was cautious and she bet he was shuffling his right foot back and forth like he always did when he wasn’t sure.

“Hi Jack,” She turned and gave him a weak smile before opening her arms for a hug.

He gave a big smile and raced forward, colliding with her before pulling away and handing her a flower necklace. Hope gasped and placed her hand on her chest.

“That’s amazing! Who did you make it for?”

“You, miss Hope.”

Hope almost cried at this. “Well, it’s lovely, I will cherish it forever. Now, how about you go see Mr. Pearson and see when dinner will be ready?”

He nodded furiously before running off again. Hope saw Kieran out of the corner of her eye.

“He spent an hour making that for yous. Wouldn’t stop talking about how excited he was to get home.”

Hope sighed as her lip quivered. “Oh Kieran, I made such a mistake today. I made a fool of myself and I could have gotten the gang in trouble.”

Kieran sat on the ground next to her and gathered her in his arms. She felt weak and unworthy. She hated this and how she couldn’t help 

“All I wanted was to help…” Kieran barely heard what she said, but it broke his heart nonetheless. He wanted to hold her as long as it took to help her, but he knew it wouldn’t work.

“Arthur told me when I came back, and Mary-Beth wanted me to check on you for her. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Hope nodded. All she wanted to do was sleep and put this all behind her, maybe even sink into the ground.

“I’ll grab us food, we can eat here tonight.” Hope sniffled and let go as he stood.

She watched as he walked over to the cooking tent and Mary-Beth walked up to him, fiddling her thumbs before reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. They spoke for a moment before she reached out and pulled him into a hug. A pang of pain rippled through Hope. Of course, he wanted Mary-Beth and not her. She was beautiful and kind. Everything Kieran deserved.

Maybe she would skip dinner tonight.

Kieran walked back over to the spot on the hill, the grass still had an indent in it in the shape of Hope’s body, but she wasn’t there anymore. He was confused. Didn’t she want to eat dinner with him? Did he make a mistake somewhere? Mary-Beth came up behind him.

“I saw her go to her tent, maybe she was tired.” He appreciated her want to help, but he felt strangely empty

“Thank you, Mary-Beth. I think I’m just gonna go to bed too.”

Kieran turned and walked back to the main camp, giving his food to Tilly and Lenny, who were playing a game of dominos before turning to head to his tent. He caught a glimpse of Hope, and she looked heartbroken, sitting on her cot holding back tears and fussing with the end of her hair. Oh, how he wanted to go talk to her, but it didn’t seem like his place. So, for now, he settled for trying to fall asleep alone.

The next few weeks the two both felt off. Tired and wanting more, dancing around a conversation, and frankly it was exhausting. Hope never wanted that, in fact, quite the opposite. The more she watched and spoke to him, the harder she fell. But what was she supposed to do? He wanted Mary-Beth, not a reminder of his past.

So here she sat, trying to eat the stew in front of her, but failing to do anything but push the now cold meat around the bowl.

“I understand it don’t taste the best, but you should at least try.” Hope’s head snapped up at the sound of Hosea’s voice.

“No, it ain’t that.”

“Well, then what is it?” He sat in the chair across from her and placed his arms on the table.

“It’s somethin’ stupid, you don’t need to hear.”

“It’s about that O’ Driscoll boy, isn’t it?” There was an oddly teasing tone in his voice as he spoke.

“He ain’t an O’ Driscoll. Neither of us were.”

“But I’m right, aren’t I?”

Hope mutely nodded before staring back down at her bowl.

“Did he do something to upset you?”

“More I upset me than him.”

Hosea only nodded at his before running his hand across his cheek. The was fading into the endless sky as she stared back in her bowl.

“Am I a fool, Hosea?”

“Aren’t we all?”

Hope nodded and bit the corner of her lip.

“Do you love him?”

“Course I do.” It shocked Hope how she didn’t have to think twice before speaking.

“Then go get him.”


	7. Let's Get Drunk!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WOO lets make MORE bad life choices!  
> And by us, I mean Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this chapter, I won't lie hehehe

\----------  Chapter 7- Let’s get drunk

A shoot-out. That’s all it took for everyone to uproot their lives and move near the town Rhodes.  It was muddy as they moved in and Hope was weak and tired from moving so quickly.  All she wanted to do was get drunk. It seemed like a good idea at the time.  A few of the gang broke out a bottle and began the party. Hope hung around Javier and Bill who didn’t seem to care as she chugged whiskey, choking as it burned all the way down.  There was no happy ending to this night, she knew it from here, but it was fun and the music made her happy, so she chugged some more.

Kieran watched her from a distance, she was swaying slightly and hiccuping every few seconds. Mary-Beth placed a hand on his shoulder, her gaze falling on Hope.  She was sad, for Kieran and Hope. They were lonely and the only thing the other truly had, but for some reason, Hope pushed him away.  Hope glanced over at the two before chugging more booze.

“What does he see in her?” She hiccuped.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bill blurted out, sharing a confused glance with Javier.

“Mary-Beth,” Hope was shocked somewhere deep inside with how hateful she sounded. “It’s not like she’s known him for a year.” Hiccups erupted from her chest. “Whatever, stupid, all of it.”

Hope stood. “If you two don’t mind, I have to go throw up now?” She tripped over her own feet and Bill let out a massive guffaw.

“Have fun with that, lightweight.” His tone was light and teasing.

Kieran saw her walk to the tree line to empty her stomach and stood instantly before racing over to her. By the time he got to her, she was heaving again. Without thought, he grabbed her hair and pulled it back, rubbing circles on her back.  What had gotten into her? First, she ignored him, now she’s drinking? This wasn’t the Hope he knew.  She lifted her head and saw who it was, wiping her mouth on her arm she laughed.

“What, did Mary-Beth not want to be around you anymore? Come back to tried and true?” Hope laughed bitterly, leaving him confused.

“I saw you come over and figured I’d help you. What's your problem, Hope?”

She scoffed. “My problem? You don’t want to be around me anymore, not when you have her? So what’s the point. I’m not good enough, I get it! But leave me alone to lick my wounds, stop hurting me, Kieran!”

“I never want to hurt you, Hope. I care about you, at some point, you forgot that.”

Hope only seemed more confused by this. Before she could ask what he meant Hosea came up behind the two.

“Hope, I think you’ve had enough for one night.” He tenderly grabbed the bottle from her hand and she shook her head before sniffling and grabbing her skirt.

“Thank you, Hosea, I think I need some sleep. Goodnight Kieran.” She stormed off and tripped a few times on the way to her tent.

“What did I do?” Kieran was in pain. It couldn’t be fixed with bandages or stitches. No medication he could take. He felt as if he lost her, his anchor, the only person who trusted him and whom he could trust in, and the worst part is he had no idea why.

  
  
  


\--------

Hope awoke with a pounding headache and a lot of regrets. Over drinking and over the things she said. It was funny to her, Karen said she always forgot what she did when she was drunk, poor Hope remembered it all.  Chores that day weren’t fun. Hope washed clothing and helped Pearson cook, and through it all, she noticed Mary-Beth staring at her.  Hope reached the end of her limits and gathered her skirt, walking over to Mary-Beth, who now looked terrified, her eyes wide and searching for someone she could talk to so she could avoid Hope.  No luck. Hope crossed camp in a matter of seconds and crossed her arms, staring Mary-Beth in the face.

“Do you have something to say to me?” Hope realized how her tone of voice sounded, but frankly, she didn’t care.

“You were awfully rude to Kieran last night.”

“I know I was, but I can’t go back and change that, so why are you staring at me like that?”

Mary-Beth didn’t seem to have a good answer for that. She settled for fiddling with her thumbs.

“I’ve spent a lot of time reading books Hope, I know exactly what’s happening here, I’m a pretty smart woman and so are you.”

Hope nodded and dug her left heel into the ground. She didn’t feel real smart today.

“Kieran said he wanted to talk to you tonight when you ain’t hungover. He told me he would be waiting on the dock.”

And with that, Mary-Beth walked away leaving Hope feeling terrible. She knew what she said wasn’t right, but it scared her half to death thinking about what Kieran wanted to talk to her about.  It was hard focusing on chores that day. Hope wanted to be good and sober when she saw him, so it wasn’t until real late at night when she first looked at the dock.

And there stood Kieran, well, walked Kieran. He was pacing back and forth and he looked just nervous as she did. Hope took a shaky breath and began her walk down.  The moon was high in the sky and it illuminated the whole dock.

Kieran heard footsteps and his head turned to the camp. He saw Hope looking back at him, and he just about jumped out of his skin. Her face was lit up by the moonlight, her eyes shining ever so slightly.  She looked scared and regretful. This wasn’t going to be easy, would it? He opened his mouth to speak but Hope beat him to it.

“Look, Kieran, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things. I was mad and I was jealous because, I look at Mary-Beth and she’s smart and pretty and a good woman, and I, I don’t know what came over me.”

“Wait, why would it matter about Mary-Beth?”

For some reason, this made Hope mad. Did he not know it was torture to see someone you love love somebody else?

“I figured now that you have options, you wouldn’t need me.”

“I don’t want options!”

“Well, for God’s sake, Kieran what do you want?”

“You, Hope I want you damn it!”

The air felt silent. Even the crickets seemed to stop in anticipation. Did she hear him right?

“What did you just say to me?”

Kieran inhaled deeply. “I want you Hope, I thought you knew that.”

Hope laughed and stepped closer to him. She wanted to reach out and touch him, make sure she wasn’t dreaming, that this was real.  Hope felt suspended in air, she didn’t know what to say to him, the wrong words could ruin everything.

“Oh God, Hope please, say something.”

“I want you too.”

That was all he needed. Kieran took two steps forward and grabbed Hope. He pulled her into the tightest hug he knew how to give. And the two just stood there. His chin resting on her head, her face buried in his chest, neither needing to speak.  The chatter of camp lingered behind them, the soft sound of the water sloshing against the shore. Hope wanted to laugh, all this time, she made such a fool of herself, and somehow he still wanted her.

“May-may I kiss you, Hope?”

All she could do was nod against his chest. There was a good chance she would throw up again, but right now she was so happy, it didn’t really matter.  The two pulled back and looked into each other's eyes. Searching for apprehension or a sign the other didn’t want this. 

Neither one found anything but love.

Kieran leaned closer and Hope just closed her eyes. His lips were soft but chapped. They were cautious and slow, wanting to savor the moment. It was a mess, to be honest, but a beautiful mess.  Neither wanted to pull away but their lungs burned for air. Hope placed her forehead on his and laughed.

“I really am sorry about-”

“Hey, don’t mention it anymore. It doesn’t matter much does it?”

“I guess it doesn’t”

Arthur stood by the camp and watched the two. They were morons, that’s for sure, but they were kids, caught up in a terrible life with nowhere to turn. It reminded him of Eliza, how he missed her and Isaac, and how he wished he could have protected them. 

Arthur swore then and there, he would do what he could to make sure they made it out of this mess alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY KISSSEDDDDDDDDD AAAAAAAAAAAAA.
> 
> Is this huge to you? Its huge to me!


	8. The Fleeting Happy Moments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more lovely painful moments with your disaster gang (tm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost to chapter 10! Meaning almost 1/3 of the way through.  
> I almost wish I make this book (?) longer, but it's 155 pages long in total.   
> It will never be perfect in my mind but I hope you all like it!

\-----Chapter 8- The Fleeting Happy Moments

Hope sat on her cot gripping onto the tent post, she was watching Karen get all dolled up for a heist. She was going to rob a bank. Hope wanted to join them, but Arthur gave her a sour look as soon as she asked, and she already knew the answer. The bank was all the way back in Valentine and Karen was already complaining about the long ride. Hope had mostly tuned it out, settling for watching her curl up her hair and tying her boots.

“Wel, how do I look?” Karen twirled around before placing her hands on her hips.

“You’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

Karen laughed. “You are a better sweet talker than Sean, and honey, that’s saying something.”

“Spend enough time around him and you learn.” 

“Wish me luck, hon.” And with that, Karen was gone.

It had been a few weeks since that night on the dock but Hope was still swooning when she thought about it. Since then, the two had become almost inseparable. Today Jack and Kieran were fishing, it had quickly become his favorite pastime and Jack didn’t seem to mind tagging along. Hope had begun to settle in the camp, she found comfort in the little things. People began being nice to her and even Sadie didn’t despise her anymore.   
The hours lulled away as Hope worked and talked with Lenny and beat Javier at that stupid finger fillet game.

“We’re back y’all!” Karen screamed and everyone turned to look at her as she held stacks of cash over her head. Cheers erupted from the camp and even Dutch seemed pleased.

Of course, as with any happy occasion, booze began being passed around and everyone took a sip. Javier was already picking up his guitar and Sean was singing some crass songs.

Hope turned her head when she heard Jack giggling, Kieran gave her the biggest smile as Jack held up two massive smallmouth bass. Branwen slowed down and Hope walked up to them, running her hand down the horse’s neck.

“Look what I caught Miss Hope!”

“Those are huge! You should go show your mama and take ‘em to Pearson.” Hope picked Jack up and placed him on the ground.

Jack ran off and yelled for Abigail and Kieran dismounted Branwen.

“I missed you today.” Hope wasted no time wrapping her arms around him and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. Even now it made him blush.

“I missed you too, Jack talked about you for a good hour.”

“It’s nice to see he isn’t throwing rocks at you anymore.”

Kieren gave Hope a tired look and she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Come on, some of the gang went and robbed a bank today, everyone’s celebrating.”

“All right, lemme wash up and I’ll come sit with yous.”

This seemed to satisfy Hope as she nodded and walked over to one of the campfires, there weren’t any seats left and rather than ask someone to move, Hope decided to walk to the other fire and wait for Kieran. This plan was foiled however when Hope heard a voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Come on, now don’t leave girlie, ya can sit on my lap.” It was Micah. The man sent chills down her spine whenever he spoke or looked her way. Bill let out a laugh and slapped his knee.

“No thank you, I’m waiting for someone, I’ll go to the other fire.”

“Oh, don’t ruin the fun.” Micah grabbed Hope’s wrist and pulled her down to his lap.

“You let her go bastard.” Hope turned her head and saw Kieran, she hoped he knew she was scared, but on the other hand, she didn’t want him to start a fight.

“Listen to the boy Micah.” Arthur now stood in front of Micah, who sighed and shoved Hope back up. She ran over to Kieran and hid behind him.

“Arthur, by the way, I’ve been meaning to talk to you, meet me by Dutch’s tent,” Micah stood abruptly and walked past Kieran, bumping shoulders with him. “Keep your little lady in check.”

Hope scoffed and Kieran rolled his eyes. 

“I’ve had about enough of that man.” Kieran was never one to start fights. In fact he was one of the kindest men Hope had ever met. But in this moment, she knew he was about ready to throw Micah into the river.

“Thank you for standing up for me.” Hope grabbed his hand and the two walked over to the other campfire. All she wanted to do was ignore Micah and Bill, forget about the stress of her life. 

She was young and in love and tonight she wanted to enjoy that. Tomorrow could have its own problems.

And oh how it did.

\-------

Arthur was missing.

Dutch, Micah, and Arthur went to make peace with Colm. Hope tried to tell Arthur that it wouldn’t work, that Colm would never want to make peace. But no one listened, not even Arthur but deep down he knew she was right.  
But he went anyway.

When Dutch and Micah rode in alone, messed up, Hope knew what happened. She was so angry at Micah for ever even telling Dutch and Arthur about it, but she couldn’t change the past. Hope didn’t really feel like crying anymore, she’d done enough of that lately. But all those things weren’t what made her the most mad. It was that Dutch didn’t do anything about it. He seemed grieved, but he made no moves to help. Right now she stood outside Dutch’s tent, trying to convince herself to speak, to tell him what was on her mind.

“Something I can help you with, Miss?”

Dutch beat her to it, and his words caught her off guard.

“I was wondering when we’re gonna go get Arthur back.”

A sigh left the leader’s lips and he ran his hand down his face.

“It’s too risky. We can’t lose anyone else.”

“You know that if it were you who got taken, Arthur wouldn’t have even thought twice about saving you.”

“I’m not happy about this either, Miss Hope, but I have no choice.”

“Like hell you don’t. How long has that man given everything for you and and your dream? The least you could do for him is to save him from those monsters.”

“I said no! Good day, Miss Dennehey.”

The girl turned on her heels and stormed out of the tent, not really sure where she was going. Hope felt angry and despaired but somehow it didn’t surprise her when Arthur rode into camp the next day with fire in his eyes.

She could hear him yelling at Micah and she was frankly, very happy about it. He exited the tent and Miss Grimshaw began cleaning up his wounds. Hope cautiously entered his tent and leaned up against the support beam.

“If this is a ‘told you so’ I don’t want to hear it.” His voice was hoarse and rough.

“Me? Never,” The two chuckled “I came to make sure you’re okay.”

“By most standards, no. But I’m a wanted man, this is how we live.” 

These words hit Hope. Her life wasn’t like most women’s; she ran with wanted men and women and somehow found joy in moments with them.

“You listening to me?” Hope snapped her head up and Arthur chuckled. “Always got your head in the clouds.” 

She didn’t know how to respond, so she settled for fiddling with her shirt sleeves.

‘’I gave Micah quite the earful, even told them you knew it was wrong. He didn’t seem too happy a kid had more brains than him.” He smiled and shook his head, which Miss Grimshaw scolded him for.

“Colm ain’t one for peace. That won’t ever change, he’s too stubborn.”

“Well, if you got anymore good information about O’ Driscoll, let us know.”

Hope nodded before bidding him goodnight and walking to her tent. To her surprise, Kieran was sitting on her cot, a few flowers in his hands.

“Hey handsome.” His head flew up and his cheeks turned red.

“Hello yourself,” He stood and handed her the flowers. She held them close to her and enjoyed the lovely scent they held.

“I wanted to know if you wanted to spend time on the dock tonight?” His voice was low as if he feared she would reject him.

“I would love that, Kieran.” She placed the flowers on her cot and he held his hand out for her. Hope smiled and took it, gathering her skirt in the other hand.

They floated through camp, people glancing at them and nodding as they passed. The water glistened slightly in the faint moonlight and the two sat down on the edge of the deck. Hope played with Kieran’s hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Do you ever think about what our lives would be like if we never met these people?”

“Well, we would probably be dead by now.”

Hope chuckled at this. “You ain’t wrong.”

“I’m glad we have someone to call a family. It’s nice to be able to breathe.”

“It sure is.”

The wildlife around them continued as if they weren’t even there, the sounds of the water softly splashing against the soaked shoreline.

“Tomorrow is my birthday.” Hope didn’t know why she didn’t like this phrase. She wasn’t lying, it just wasn’t the nicest day of her life.

“Well, I gotta get you something.”

“No, no. I don’t need anything. I’m happy with what I have. I just figured you should know.”

Kieran nodded, pulling back and smiling at her.

“Dance with me."

“Kieran, we don’t have music.”

“I’ll figure something out.

Hope stood and helped Kieran up. She did the same thing she did many times before. She placed her hands around his neck and he placed his hands on her hips. Kieran began humming. Hope recognized it. It was the song she hummed to him the first time they danced. She gasped.

“You remember that song?”

“Of course I do.”

The two swayed back and forth pulling away a few times so that Kieran could spin Hope around. She laughed and hummed along with him. The dock creaked slightly beneath them and every so often a fish would swim past the two of them and make the water ripple softly. They felt peace with each other. It was easy and soft, delicate, and neither wanted to break it. Soon, they both pulled away and Hope placed a soft kiss on his lips. They walked back to camp and bid each other goodnight. Tilly was smiling as Hope walked back into their tent.

“What are you smiling about?”

“You and Kieran being all sweet on each other. It’s nice to see that.”

“I love him, Tilly.”

“Oh honey, if you didn’t we’d have a problem.”

Hope let out a small laugh and removed her overshirt and boots. She was tired now, the whole week wearing her down. Tilly carried a conversation as she nodded off. Tilly never minded, the girl was too kind to.


	9. The World Crashes and Burns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the gang experiences hardships, Hope tries to find her place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I skipped a bit cos Hope wasn't really ever a part of any of the Braitewaite's and the Grey's. I hope you don;t mind too* much!

\-----Chapter 9- The World Crashes and Burns

Things were falling apart. Sean had been killed and now Jack was missing. Most of the gang was out looking for him. Abigail was a mess and Hope didn’t blame her. Karen was too drunk and passed out somewhere, grief clutched her after she lost Sean. The camp despaired. Jack was so important to all of them and the thought of never seeing him again… Hope didn’t want to think about it.

It wasn’t long before everyone returned, rage in their eyes. Dutch flipped tables, Arthur went into the woods and shot the shit out of the trees, Hosea remained silent, just sitting and drinking occasionally. Worst was poor John. When he told Abigail they didn’t have Jack she all but fell to the floor, John tried his best to comfort her, but to no avail.

The whole camp held its breath. Most people were around the main area when Dutch walked out and lit a cigar.

“These past few weeks have been hard on the camp, this is known. But we are strong people. We have survived much worse. Losing Sean is something I cannot change, even though I want to. But little Jack is still alive and still needs us.”

Hope nodded and searched for Kieran in the sea of gang members.

“So we are going to move. We caused a ruckus in Rhodes today and this camp is no longer safe. We will get Jack back, cause a scene, and make some money. I have a plan, we need to have faith, my friends, my family! Everyone sleep, Arthur and Lenny know of a place we can move to, tomorrow we will pack our things.”

“Dutch, we got a problem!” Hope turned to look at Lenny who was standing with two men she didn’t recognize.

“Not a problem, visitors. A solution?” The man in front spoke.

People around the camp now stood around the strangers, wary and defensive.

“Good day, fine people. Mr. Van der Linde, Mr. Matthews, I presume. And who are you?”

John stood and placed his hand over his holster.

“Rip Van Winkle.” The man looked skeptical and turned to look back at Dutch.

“Huh, good day sir. Agent Milton, Pinkerton Detective Agency,” He gestured to the man beside him. “Agent Ross. Ah, Mr. Morgan, nice to see you again.”

“And to what do we owe the pleasure, Agent Moron?” Dutch interjected.

“I don’t know if you’re aware but this, this is a civilised land now. We didn;t kill all them savages to allow the likes of you to act like human dignity and basic decency were outmoded or not yet invented. This,” 

He gestured to the camp. “Thing. It’s done.”

Dutch stood and slowly turned to Agent Milton. “This place ain’t no such thing as civilized. It’s man, so in love with greed, he has forgotten himself and found only appetites.”

“And as a consequence, that lets you take what you please, kill whom you please, and hang the rest of us? Who made you the messiah to these lost souls you’ve led so horribly astray?”

“I’m nothing but a seeker, Mr. Milton.”

“You ain’t much of anything other than a killer, Mr. Van der Linde. But I came to make a deal. It’s time. You come with me and I give the rest of ya three days to run off, disappear, and live like human beings someplace else.”

“You came for me? Risked life and limb in this den of lowlifes and murderers so that they might live and love? Ain’t that fine.”

Most of the camp chuckled, but Hope just laced her fingers into Kieran’s had, hoping for some heartening.

“I don’t wanna kill all these folk, Dutch. Just you.”

Dutch rose his hands and stepped forward. “In that case, it’d be my honor to join you. Excuse me, friends. I have an appointment to keep with…”

Everyone in camp pulled their guns out, keeping them close to their hips.

“I think your new friend should leave now, Dutch.” Miss Grimshaw’s gruff voice rang out.

“You’re making a big mistake, all of you.” Mr. Milton now seemed agitated. 

Dutch chuckled darkly. “Oh yeah. Dreadful. We have got something. Something to live and die for. How awful for us, Mr. Milton. Stop following us. We’ll be gone soon.”

“I’m afraid I can’t, and when I return I’ll be with fifty men. All of you will die. Run away from this place you fools! Run!”

“Come on.” Lenny moved to grab his arm.

“Get your damn hands off of me, boy.”

The men walked out of the camp and mounted their horses, riding off as if nothing happened.  
Arthur sighed. “What now?”

“We get outta here.”

Hope didn’t hear much of the rest of the conversation as Kieran unlaced his hand from hers and walked over to one of the tables before sitting down. Hope kneeled beside him and sighed when he looked away and pulled a bottle from the other side of the table.

“Kieran, what's wrong?”

“I saw those men who took little Jack. I thought they was here for business, I-I had no idea.”

Hope stiffened at this. It wasn’t his fault, but he should have told somebody. She ran her hand up and down his leg, not sure what to say, but being of some comfort.

“You need to tell Abigail.”

“I know,” He sighed and took a swig of the beer. “She’ll be so mad.”

“It doesn’t really matter Kieran, she needs to hear it.”

He nodded and Hope stood before placing a gentle kiss on his scalp.

“I’m going to sleep, I don’t have much to stay up for.”

Kieran just took another swig of his drink and stared at the table. Hope felt disheartened and lost. The family she clung to was fading, everyone lost in their own sea, slowly drowning. It was still night when Hope awoke. She noticed a few things as soon as she sat up, it was cold, she was drenched in sweat, she was crying, and someone was holding her hand. Who it was she didn’t know, she hadn’t gathered the courage to look. Hope took in a few more breaths before looking over. Somehow it shocked her to see that it was Kieran. He looked scared and as if he was lost in thought.

“K-Kieran?” Hope almost didn’t trust her voice, she was worried it would give out and it was clear as she spoke.

His head turned to look up at her and she was almost taken aback. They held an emotion she hadn’t seen in a while. Guilt.

“I heard you crying and I came to see what was wrong, you was asleep, so I figured I would sit here til you woke up.”

Hope was touched, not surprised in the slightest, but very touched. She shifted and wiped the tears from her eyes, blinking to regain sight.  
Most of the camp as dark, but Kieran had brought a candle to the tent.

“Thank you Kieran. Where did Tilly go?”

“When I walked over she got up and went to sleep in Karen’s tent.”

She nodded and looked at the ground. Somehow she felt ashamed, she hadn’t meant to wake anyone up.

“Well, I’ll uh, I’ll be on my wa-”

“Stay,” Hope wasn’t sure what came over her, all she knew was she didn’t want to be alone. “Please.”

Kieran nodded and Hope scooted over in the cot to make room for him. His body heat hit Hope and she sighed happily, one problem fixed. Slowly his arm lifted up and settled over her waist. His gentle breathing calming Hope down ever so slightly. Hope held her breath as Kieran started humming. The sweet melody engraved into her mind as it escaped his lips. It calmed her worrying mind and settled her heartbeat.  
The cot was probably too small for the two of them and the intimacy brought a blush to her puffy cheeks.   
But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The night was soon over and the gentle sound of a bird woke Hope. her first thought was how there was still an arm draped over her stomach. Then the thoughts of last night came flooding back into her mind, and sadly the nightmares came with it. Kieran shifted in his sleep, holding Hope close to him. She could have cried, for the first time in her life, she felt truly loved by a man. And she never wanted to let this feeling go.

“Wake up everyone!” Miss Grimshaw’s voice split through the soft morning air. Kieran woke with a start and sat straight up causing Hope to giggle.

He looked down at the girl who stared into his eyes and he felt in inexplicable emotion. Like love, but much deeper and stronger than it used to be.

Her innocence shone through her eyes as she gave him a soft smile, pulling her hands through her hair. Kieran leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. It was more desperate than it had ever been before. When they pulled back Hope looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“I love you Hope Dennehey.”

“I love you Kieran Duffy.”

“Did you two not hear Grimshaw?” The two turned their heads to see Hosea standing over them, arms crossed trying, and failing to seem angry.

“Yes-yes sir, we were just getting up.”

Hosea laughed and waved his hand before walking away. Kieran looked at Hope and they both broke out in laughter. There was a long day ahead of the camp.

Thankfully most of the gang was settled in the new camp come nightfall, it certainly helped that there was a house and people could be assigned rooms. But Hope found herself feeling as if she couldn’t call it home. Sleep wasn’t easy again that night and Hope placed her feet on the cold, soft mud ground in the early hours of the morning. She gazed up and saw the odd sight of smoke rising from the upper floor of the house.  
In her mind, there was no choice but to investigate the sight.

Hope wandered into the house and up the stairs before moving out to the balcony and the familiar scent of a cigar filled her nose. Dutch Van der Linde. She wasn’t sure where she stood with him, whether he saw her as part of the gang, or a tool he could use.   
With that in mind, Hope turned to walk away when he spoke and stopped her.

“I wasn’t sure if I could trust the two of you, still not.” His voice was low and emotionless.

“No offense sir, what the hell do I say to that?”

He let out a loud laugh making Hope jump in shock. What did she do?

“You ain’t half bad, kid. You have been a valuable asset to our camp.”

“Well, what about Kieran?”

“Yes, dear, he’s alright too.”

It bothered Hope to hear him brush Kieran off like that, and she couldn’t stop herself from speaking.

“He’s worked very hard to impress this camp, sir. I would hope you can see that.”

Dutch’s eyes flit over to her momentarily, but he quickly returns to his cigar. Hope went to open her mouth again when she heard Arthur call her name. Hope turned to see him holding a gun and he had an almost impish smile on his face.

“Seeing as you wanna stay with this camp, it’s about time you learned how to shoot girl.”


	10. Time To Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anyone up for some gun safety? Be responsible, folks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's play Spot the Until Dawn quote! It's one of my favorites from the game and easily missed!

\------ Chapter 10- Time to Learn

  
  


“Now, you ain’t gonna put your hands on the trigger until?”

“I’m ready to fire.”

Arthur nodded.

“Only aim at what?”

“What I want to kill or I’m willin’ to pay for.”

Hope smiled as Arthur handed her the pistol. It was shiny but there was a bit of blood on the handle. She tried not to think about it.

“Stand with one leg slightly behind the other, legs apart, and bend your knees slightly.”

Arthur dropped into position and Hope copied the moments.

“And don’t close your eyes when you shoot.” Hope looked behind her and saw Sadie walking towards them. Hope nodded and Sadie tisked.

“Here hun,” Sadie muttered as she moved Hope’s waist ever so slightly.

Sadie stepped back. Hope lifted the pistol and stared at the empty beer bottle which Arthur so graciously chugged moments earlier.  She took a deep breath, placed her hands on the gun, folding them just as Arthur showed her.  She raised the gun and aimed at her target. Hope pulled in a breath and fired, whooping as it hit the bottle.

“Nice shooting tex.” Javier’s voice called from behind her.

Hope looked behind her, she had an audience at this point. Hosea and five others stood around her now. A small nervous blush hit her cheeks.

“Again.” Arthur was smiling, trying to be stern.

Hope placed her sights on the next bottle and she repeated her actions. Hit. She moved to the next bottle. Hit. She placed her sights on the bottle in the trees. She fired. Almost a miss, but hit.  Cheering rang behind her at every shot. She didn’t hit every single on her first shot, but the rush of succeeding coursed through her veins.  Hope finally cleared all the targets and lowered her gun. Her smile was so wide, her face mighta split if she held it too long.

“Your woman is a good shot, Hermano.” Hope turned and saw Kieran, a smile mirroring her own on his face and Javier’s hand on his shoulder.

“That she is.” Pride dripped in his words and Hope did a small curtsy before she handed the gun back to Arthur.

“Thank you, sir, for teaching me.”

“Oh, anytime kid.”

The crowd slowly dispersed and Dutch started talking about Jack again. Hope almost forgot in the midst of her joy from the morning, all the pain Abigail and John were going through.  Kieran must have seen her face fall because he pulled her close to him.

“We’re gonna find him, don’t you worry.”

“I know. I just hate them Braithwaites for taking him.”

“Oh, you know Dutch and them made them pay.”

It didn’t help much, but it was a nice thought to hear they didn’t get away with this.

  
  
  


\-----

Kieran stared at the man in front of him, not quite sure what to say. Arthur Morgan saved his life, and Hope’s. That’s why his approval was so important to him, because Arthur was, in a way, Hope’s father figure.

“You what?” Kieran sighed, unsure how to answer.

“I want to ask you for Hope’s hand.”

“Well, boy, it ain’t up to me. What does she think?”

“I, erm, haven’t asked her yet.

Arthur nodded at this. It was odd. The boy was always nervous, but right now, he was scared out of his mind. Did he really mean that much to this boy?  Kieran just about jumped out of his skin when the older man laughed.

“Well, as long as she’ll have you, go for it, son.”

Kieran let out a sigh of relief and nodded his head.

“Thank you sir. Thank you very much.”

As Kieran ran back outside he heard Arthur mutter something about how ‘foolish these kids are’, but it didn’t much matter to him right now.

Now he had to find Hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you love dad!Arthur?
> 
> ANYONE ELSE LOVE KIERAN ASKING ARTHUR PERMISSION TO MARRY HOPE ASDFGHJKL COS I DO


	11. If You'll Have Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A proposal and a wedding in one chapter?!?! It's almost like the author never put these in two different chapters ahahahah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready? I'm not ready. Are you ready?

\----------- Chapter 11- “If you’ll have me.”

  
  
  


The camp was exploding with joy. The days before had been long and hard, but Jack was finally safe and happy, telling people about his adventures in Saint Denis.  Abigail was holding him on her lap, bouncing him up and down to the tune Javier was playing.  People were drinking and dancing, even Hope had a little Kentucky bourbon. Kieran and Hope sat on one of the benches by the fire, Hope delicately sitting on Kieran’s lap. They were calm and happy. 

Kieran fiddled with the small metal ring in his pocket. It had been quite a few days since he asked Arthur for permission, and never once did he have a real moment of peace to be along with Hope.  He was nervous as all get out and Hope knew, she was just kind enough to not mention the way he was bouncing his leg like he always did when something was on his mind.  But when he placed his head in the crook of Hope’s neck and sighed, she knew it was time to intervene.

“What’s wrong Kieran?”

He spoke not, only shook his head.

“It’s me, honey, you can tell me anything.”

Hope placed a tender kiss on the crown of his head and he nodded, lifting his head and looking into her eyes.

“I ain’t good with words, you know that,” Hope smiled and leaned back to place a hand on his cheek. 

“All this mess with-with moving and Jack, and seeing you shoot that gun, which was very nice by the way,” Hope blushed and giggled.

“I realized I don’t want to let you go anytime soon Hope. In-in fact, not ever. That is if you’ll have me.”

Kieran pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it up for Hope to see.

The world slowed down for Hope. The music and laughter faded and all she could see was the man she loved more than life holding a ring in front of her.  Her heart skipped and beat and she said nothing. Kieran’s face fell as the anxiety of it came back to crush him.

Hope pulled herself back to the world and realized she hadn’t said anything yet.

“I’m sorry, I overstepped, forget-”

“Yes.”

Kieran was silent for a moment, the words slowly working through his mind. Hope looked at him with a tad bit of concern, had he heard her?

“Kieran, honey, you alright?”

One small word made his heart soar. Yes. Yes! She wanted this. She wanted him.  Kieran laughed and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Hope smiled and placed a hand on her chest as he slipped the small ring on her hand. 

Hope pulled him into a long and loving kiss, taking her time, savoring the moment. Life was good tonight, sweet and filled with family. She wished it could be like this all the time.  Cheers erupted from around the fire as people slowly realized what happened. Hope placed her head against Kieran’s and laughed before hiding her face.

Kieran glanced at Arthur who crossed his arms and nodded at the boy. It had been a good long time since two people made the camp this happy.

Yes. Today was for celebrating.

  
  


The girls frisked about Hope, asking her about the ring and squealing over planning a real-life wedding. To be honest, Hope wasn’t sure what to do with the attention, and to her, it didn’t really matter about the wedding.  For goodness sake, they could elope in the woods for all she cared. And she knew that might be all she got.

Tilly and Mary-Beth talked about her dress while Karen smiled and asked embarrassing questions about her and Kieran, chuckling when Hope turned redder than the velvet on Molly’s dress.  Hope couldn’t sleep well that night. Joy was flooding her mind and also fear. She wasn’t sure what for. Maybe it was a sense of dread, what if he backed out? What if she lost him?

Little did she know, a few rooms down, Kieran wasn’t sleeping well either. He didn’t want to mess anything up, he didn’t want to hurt her, and more importantly, he wanted to know how to spell this word for his vows.

\-------

Out on the balcony, Arthur and Hosea shared a silent moment, each finishing off a cigarette. The two men didn’t need to use words, the stress of the last few months seeping through them.  Arthur sighed and rubbed his hand across his beard.

“They’re so young.”

“Too young,” Hosea remarked so quickly that Arthur wondered if he was thinking about the same thing he was.

“Then again, weren’t we all?” Arthur scoffed at those words.

“She’s only nineteen.”

“Who are we to stop this? They seem truly happy, I wish them luck.”

The two men sighed and Hosea turned around, almost as if he didn’t want to see the camp fading into the night.

“They remind me of Bessie and me. She wished she could stay, we knew time would run out someday.”

“I’m gonna get them out of here, you know I have to.”

Hosea dropped the last embers of his cigarette and stomped it out. “Marston and his folks too. This whole thing is falling apart, Arthur. They all should be happy and safe.”

And with that, the conversation died.

\---------

  
  
  


The planning lasted for only a week. Everyone played a part; Miss Grimshaw gave Hope an old broach for her and Karen lent her some hairpins. Charles found a beautiful gold wedding band and got the engravings done. Kieran tried to stop him but he said it was the least he could do for Hope.  Reverend Swanson decided to stay sober from the night before until the after-party in order to wed them.

Hosea gave them a horseshoe, claiming it was for good luck and warning them not to turn it upside down as the couple nodded with wide eyes.  Dutch wasn’t close to either of them, and for that, he felt a little guilt, but he was happy for them and told both of them he wished them well.  After many hours of questions from the women of the camp, Hope finally decided not to buy a dress, much to the dismay of Mary-Beth and Molly.  It didn’t much matter to Kieran, he always thought Hope was the prettiest woman, no matter what she wore

\--

  
  


Hope now stood outside Arthur’s room where he was searching for something, for what she wasn’t sure. She took a deep breath and rapped on the door.  It opened a moment after and Arthur seemed shocked to see Hope.

“Did those girls let you escape for a while?”

“No, and if they find me, I won’t hear the end of it, but I was wondering if you could do something for me?”

“I ain’t telling him you’re backing out.”

Horror flashed across Hope’s face. “No! Good Heavens no. I want to ask if you would walk me down the aisle.”

Arthur bit his lip to hold back a smile. “Me? Are you sure?”

“Mr. Arthur,” Hope slowly walked across the room and looked out the window at everyone outside. “ I never knew my daddy, but I’ve come to see you as a father, and it would mean the world to me if you would do this.”

“Then dear, I would be honored,” Hope grinned and bounced for a moment. 

“Now, go, or we ain’t gonna have a live bride for this whole ordeal.”

Hope nodded and hugged Arthur. The action took him off guard and he didn’t move for a moment. But he soon came back to reality and hugged the young girl back.  She let go and ran off as soon as Karen’s voice rang through the house.  Arthur stood back and smiled before turning back to the photo of Mary he had beside his cot. He sighed and decided maybe some people aren’t meant to be married.

Kieran stood at the end of the small makeshift aisle and took a deep breath. By now the whole camp was standing around with the girls taking up the front.  Everyone seemed happy, even Miss Grimshaw; and Kieran stopped himself from laughing when he thought to himself how it was the first time he’d ever seen that.  Reverend Swanson stood next to the massive oak the two had chosen to be wed in front of. He was silent and Kieran only hoped he kept his promise and stayed out of the bottle.

Arthur stood off to the side of the house steps with his fingers tucked into his belt. The door to the house opened and Molly walked out, scurrying off to take her place next to Dutch.  Inside Hope shuffled in her boots for a moment, trying to calm down. When Tilly opened the doors she took a deep breath before walking out the doors.

The sunlight glinted off of tent poles and she smiled when she saw Arthur standing there, trying to look tough. Hope lifted her skirt slightly and walked down the stairs. Arthur held his arm out and Hope gladly accepted it.  Soft music floated through the air and Hope smiled when she spotted the gold gramophone, the disk spinning slowly. She smiled as she saw the gang, all of them seemed happy, except for Jack, who didn’t really seem like he wanted to be there.

The two began walking down and Hope finally looked towards Kieran, she could have sworn there was a tear in his eye and she smiled at him. He looked quite handsome in the sunlight if she did say so herself.  Eventually, Arthur stopped and Hope was pulled back into the moment, she gave him a small hug whispering a thank you as she pulled back. Arthur let go and Hope now stood face to face with Kieran.

Reverend Swanson spoke and Hope tried so hard to listen to every word, but her thoughts were so loud.

“Does the couple wish to share vows?”

“Yes sir, we do.”

The two both nodded at each other and Kieran shifted his shoulders before speaking. 

“Life ain’t been that kind to us, Hope. I remember when I met you, you wouldn’t look me in the eye. Now I’m standing here, getting married to ya,” A few chuckles echoed through the camp.

“I also remember thinkin’ how you had to have been an angel when you walked into that horrible camp, and I still ain’t sure you aren’t. I wanna make sure you never have to worry about being safe, I wanna hold you when you cry and laugh with you when someone does somethin’ stupid. You are my future, Hope Dennehey and I’m real happy about it."

Hope chuckled as the tears now slipped easily down her cheeks. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” 

“Don’t be, that was beautiful Kieran.”

Hope took a shaky breath as she realized it was her turn.

“I went to one wedding in my whole life and I saw the couple and how happy they looked I knew I wanted somethin’ like that. But when I met you, I’d about given up on that. You took me by surprise, Kieran Duffy, I never saw you coming,” Hope heard Mary-Beth sigh dreamily at that.

“I love seeing you happy and I want to be there to share those times with you. And I wanna sit with you when you’re sad, I wanna hum that melody in your ear and wait with you through life’s storms. It won’t always be easy, I understand that, but I don’t care because it will all be worth it to love you.”

The two were now both complete messes, as were most of the women, and if Hope had looked, it would have been hard to miss the tear in Arthur Morgan’s eyes.

“And do you have the ring?”

“Uh, yeah I think so, one moment.” Kieran shuffled in his pockets before giving Charles a hopeless look. Charles laughed and handed Kieran the small, tarnished golden ring. “Alright, now I have it.”

Reverend Swanson gestured and Kieran placed the small ring on Hope’s hand.

“Hope and Kieran, you have each chosen to be joined in marriage today.  The bible states that ‘two are better than one; they receive a good reward for their toil, because, if one fails, the other can help the companion up again.’  In my presence and in the presence of your family and friends, you have exchanged vows and made promises. You have opened your hearts to one another, declared your love and friendship, and have united yourself with the exchanging of rings. Therefore, with the blessings of God, it is my pleasure to now pronounce you husband and wife.

You may now kiss the bride!”

Cheers erupted as Hope and Kieran kissed. Hope had kissed Kieran many times but was different. They were no longer just courtiers and friends, but husband and wife, devoted to each other.  They broke the kiss and looked into each other’s eyes. Kieran’s hands rested on her cheeks, Hope’s hand holding onto him, almost for fear of falling over. There was nothing but love and adoration in their eyes, hope for the future, and joy for the present.

“Let's eat y’all!” Karen’s voice ruptured the silence and everyone began heading over to the food table where Pearson laid out food. To be honest, everyone was just happy that it wasn’t stew.

Hope gathered her skirt and walked arm-in-arm with Kieran, smiles on their faces.

“We haven’t discussed if I’m takin’ your last name.” Kieran pondered this for a moment.

“Well do you wanna?”

“Kieran Dennehey sounds a lot worse than Hope Duffy, so yeah, guess I am.” The two laughed as they reached the group, thanking people when they congratulated them.

The night wore on and at some point, the drinking started. Half the gang was wasted, the others just the right amount of tipsy. Hope now wore a flower crown Jack made her and Hope had jokingly latched the broach from Miss Grimshaw on the pocket of Kieran’s shirt. The two sat next to each other on the ground, Hope’s head on his shoulder and Kieran’s head resting upon hers. There were no words, just listening to the sound of people’s chatter.

“I reckon I’ll move my things into our room tonight, finally give Tilly some space.” Hope felt a little bad that the two of them would be given a room in the house. It wasn’t big sure, but people still had to be in tents, so she wouldn’t dare complain.

“Well, unless you want Tilly to go through them.” Hope playfully smacked Kieran as broke out in laughter.

Hope smiled as she watched Karen dance with Jack while Mary-Beth sang with Tilly. She glanced over at Molly who was looking longingly at Dutch, she felt bad for Molly, all the girl wanted was a little love.

“Why do you think Dutch is ignorin’ Molly?”

“I’d say he’s got a lot on his mind, but that ain’t an excuse.”

“No, it ain’t.” Hope drew out a long sigh and fiddled with her ring.

When people retired, Hope and Kieran stood and said goodnight to everyone. Hope grabbed what few items she had and followed Kieran to their room.  The bed wasn’t a full one, but it was much bigger than her old tiny cot. She placed her bag of clothes on the floor and flopped on the bed while Kieran chuckled.

“Join me.” Hope’s voice was muffled by the blankets and Kieran shrugged his shoulders before falling on the bed next to her. His arm lazily fell over her back as she sighed.

“Left or right?” Kieran made a confused noise.

“Left side of the bed or right?”

“Hm, test each?”

The two walked around the room, both changing into nightclothes before settling into the bed. Hope laid on her side, smiling as she felt Kieran’s arm come to rest across her waist.  They fell into a nice sleep, the first one in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else emotional?

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy!


End file.
